One ex-Max Verstappen teammate would be "a completely different animal" today

Alex Albon would be a “completely different animal” if he is paired up with Max Verstappen in a Formula 1 team today, according to Williams team principal James Vowles.

Albon was promoted to Red Bull in the middle of the 2019 season, but failed to make much of an impression in a year-and-a-half at the Milton Keynes team.

After spending a year on the sidelines, he returned to F1 with Williams in 2022 and has since established himself as a dependable midfielder, with his impressive form propelling the squad to fifth place in the championship this year.

Vowels believes Albon has now reached a level where he is so reliable that he can deliver week in, week out without missing a beat.

“In 2023, he took a major step up and then he's stepped up every year,” Vowels said. “That's my. 

“He has stepped up every year, but he's always been immensely quick. Our first job is making sure we provide him with a car that's able to achieve the results, which is what we've done this year for the first time. 

“Second to that, the way I adjudicate Alex is he hasn't really put a foot wrong. I struggle to look at a race or qualifying where he hasn't done what's required of him, where it hasn't been our influence as a result of that.

“And even when things go wrong, he's so incredibly mentally strong that he deals with it and comes back the next day and wants more.

“He's absolutely flying at the right level and we know that Carlos [Sainz] is a benchmark. That's a fact and Alex is performing [well against him].”

Since Albon’s exit from Red Bull, Verstappen has also gone from strength-to-strength and is now one of the most successful drivers of all time with four titles and 65 race wins.

But Vowles believes Albon’s consistency means he won’t get walked over by Verstappen if they were racing for the same team today.

“He will go always, ‘I'm as quick as he is’, but the simple facts behind it is you put him up against Max today, he would be a completely different animal to what was there before,” said Vowles.

“I think that's the clear element behind him and the way I'm perhaps adjudicating him isn't just about how fast he is in the car, because I think he always has been, but actually how resilient he is to have everything, things going wrong around you and how strong he is in that circumstance. 

“That's what I meant by his delivering every time. So I think his peak level, which is probably how he is adjudicating himself, has it gone up a lot? Probably not. It is the ability to get there every time there.”